Any amendment is subject to certificate review and consideration of any previous amendments to the record, previous court actions as well as administrative actions. Specific instructions will be made on an individual basis after receipt of proper application, ID and fees.

The regular application process should be adhered to, with an attachment by the applicant of the items desired to change indicating the information as it appears on the record and the information of the requested change.

Minor CorrectionsMinor errors contained on the certificate, such as the day of birth, minor spelling error i.e. Carol-Carole, in most instances, can be accomplished by presentation of a variety of established documentation such as early school records, military records, marriage license, child’s birth record etc. These records must be of official record that can be verified and established in accordance with department rules.

Major CorrectionsMajor errors contained on the birth certificate including names that are different, significant date changes changing parents names (see Adoption or Paternity below) are subject to administrative review. A court order may be required.

AdoptionAn adoption occurs when one or both of the individuals determined at the time of birth to be the natural parent(s) are changed to indicate an individual who is not a natural parent. The parental information as well as the child’s name (if desired) will be updated in accordance with Oklahoma law and upon receipt of the court order.

Please note that if an individual was born in another state but adopted in the State of Oklahoma, the Adoption Decree is forwarded to that state of birth for processing and if a child was born in Oklahoma but adopted in another state, the Adoption Decree will be forwarded to the State of Oklahoma for processing. We do not maintain birth records for individuals born in other states.

When an adoption occurs and we receive proper documents from the Court, the original birth certificate is removed from the file and replaced with the new adoptive birth certificate. The original birth certificate and court documents are placed in a sealed confidential file and only opened by order of the court or as provided for in Oklahoma Statutes.

When applying for a copy of the birth certificate, any time after the adoption, the adoptive birth facts should be given including the new name of the child (if changed) and the new name(s) of the parent(s). Many individuals are confused when applying for a birth certificate years later indicating to us that they were adopted and do not know their parents names. Remember that once an individual is adopted the adoptive information is the only information that need be provided to obtain the official birth certificate of record.

Attending Physician/Medical Examiner Section
Items in this section may only be amended upon application of the medical examiner or the attending physician indicated on the original filed certificate of death. This section includes the cause and manner of death as well as other pertinent information related to the fact of the death.

Funeral Home Section - Minor Changes

Minor corrections to a death certificate can be made with a statement of correction from the funeral home which must attest to the fact that the corrections are being made based on an error made for the funeral home. In some cases additional documentation will be required to clarify the item such as minor misspellings.

Funeral Home Section - Other Changes

All other changes are subject to review and submission of legal documentation. Applications submitted and not accepted may be submitted by filing a petition with the Administrative Hearing Clerk pursuant to OAC 310:2 and seek a final decision by an Administrative Law Judge granting the relief requested. The applicant shall bear the burden of proof, by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed change, alteration or amendment sought by the Applicant corrects an error or misstatement of fact as to any information supplied to the State Registrar by the funeral home.